


I Have Been and Still Am (A Seeker)

by orphan_account



Series: Two Different Worlds Coming From Two Opposite Poles Mingled During This Time [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Billy has a son named Demian, Good Friend Robin Buckley, M/M, Meet-Cute, Steve is weak for both of them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Uh, hi!" He really hopes the kid finds his smile more friendly than creepy. "Are you- did you just move here?"The kid just… keeps staring. Blinks, but says nothing in response. "My name is Steve. What's yours?""Daddy said I can't talk with strangers."Robin snorts a laugh. Steve slowly nods, taken aback. "That's- he's right. He's absolutely right, you shouldn't talk to strangers. But I live here, and if you do now, too, we're neighbors. Not strangers. How's that sound?""Okay," The kid decides, easily, and flashes Steve a pearl smile that has his heart jumping. "My name is Demian!"
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Two Different Worlds Coming From Two Opposite Poles Mingled During This Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598023
Comments: 20
Kudos: 245





	I Have Been and Still Am (A Seeker)

**Author's Note:**

> so,,, this is the first part of a long ass series that i have planned and that i hope you like so i can keep sharing it with y'all <3 title from, duh, Demian by Hermann Hesse. if you haven't read that book please do it now.

* * *

There's only three things in the whole wide world that Steve is certain of. 

One, Marvel movies are fucking overrated. It doesn't matter how many times he gets into fights with his nerd squad, his teenage nerd squad, about this topic. His opinion is well founded -you can ask Martin Scorsese!- and, therefore, remains the same. 

Two, if a middle-aged white man describes himself as 'politically incorrect', you just know he's a dumb ignorant that voted for Trump. 

And three, morning classes are a pain in the ass when you got a job. It's like they drain your neurons until there's only two left and then they send you to work all brain damaged. 

Robin snorts. "Yeah, you've said that before." 

They are currently walking side to side towards Steve's apartment, hands full of junk food and beer. They've stumbled upon Mrs. Donnelly in the elevator when they made it barely a second before the doors closed, and after exchanging polite hello's she threw Steve a knowing smirk that Robin would kill him for if she found out the subtext. It's not that it's his fault, really. Mrs. Donnelly is, like, seventy years old and people their age don't believe in male-female friendships. 

Hell, _Steve_ didn't believe in male-female friendships before Robin, he used to be a preppy cliche grade A asshole who pretended to be friends with people he didn't even like just for the sake of Hawkins High fanciful Status Quo. And he's had the heteronormative shoved so far up his ass that the first thing he thought when he realized he genuinely liked Robin, was that he had to date her. Because that's what straight people do, right? Yeah, well. Too bad Robin wasn't straight, though she ended up teaching him two important things.

One, boys and girls _can_ be friends. Can be the best friends, even. 

And two, Robin _was not_ the only not-straight person in their friendship. 

But that's a lot of information for Mrs. Donnelly, and he doesn't give a flying fuck about what she thinks about his, actually, non-existent love life. So, he lets her be. 

"In fact, you've been saying that since the semester started." Robin continues. "Get over it already."

"I can't get over it! I'm being exploited!" 

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure you go through a lot in Daddy's Enterprises." 

"Are you… job-shaming me?" 

"No?" Robin furrows her brow, and Steve is sure that she's about to call him out for making up words _again_ , but. "I'm rich-shaming you." 

"Hey! I earn my own money regardless of my dad."

"You literally work for him." 

"...Irrelevant." 

"How's that _irrelevant_!?" 

They are still bickering when they reach Steve's apartment, maybe a little too loud considering it's late and it's a Tuesday and the building where Steve lives in is packed with old people and the majority of them are definitely asleep by now. But they are still bickering, and then something makes Steve stop fumbling with his keys, witty response dying in his throat. 

That something is a boy. A tiny, curly blond boy with crystal blue eyes that steps out of the apartment next to Steve's and _stares_ at them. 

Steve _stares_ back. Not only because he's trying to figure out who the fuck is that boy and why the fuck he hasn't seen him before, but also because he's a sucker for kids. And that kid is, like, beyond cute. Wearing the cutest mismatched clothes.

Robin's elbow colliding with his ribs gets Steve out of his trance. 

"Uh, hi!" He really hopes the kid finds his smile more friendly than creepy. "Are you… did you just move here?" 

The kid just… _keeps staring._ Blinks, but says nothing in response. "My name is Steve. What's yours?" 

"Daddy said I can't talk with strangers." 

Robin snorts a laugh. Steve slowly nods, taken aback. "That's- he's right. He's absolutely right, you shouldn't talk to strangers. But I live here, and if you do now, too, we're neighbors. Not strangers. How's that sound?" 

"Okay," The kid decides, easily, and flashes Steve a pearl smile that has his heart jumping. "My name is Demian!" 

"Cool name," Robin says, her voice laced with that appreciative tone she only uses when she's being utterly honest. "Are you named after the book? The Hermann Hesse one?" 

Steve turns his head to give her a look that says something among the lines of 'um, are you stupid?' because, like, how could the kid even know that? When he looks at Demian, he's giving Robin the same look. 

Then the door of the 5K opens again, and Steve's breath gets stolen… _again_. This time, though, the reason is way, way different. 

This time, the reason is a man. A man who's the older version of Demian. Same blond curls, but longer. Same crystal blue eyes, but deeper. 

He's also not tiny, not by a bit. He's all strong-looking, defined muscles and sharp jawline that make Steve start feeling so self-conscious that he finds himself half hiding behind Robin. She notices, if the way she steps aside in the most un-subtly way ever is anything to go by. 

_She's so going to pay for that, I swear to fuck-_

"Daddy! These are neighbors!" 

"Are they? That's great," The man says, distractedly. He's carrying a lot of children stuff in his arms and looks like he's in a hurry. "I'm sorry, I haven't had the time to properly introduce myself. I'm Billy, I moved here yesterday." 

"I'm Robin, but I'm not a _neighbor._ Steve is. I'm just a friend." 

Steve knows that's his cue, but he feels incapable of forming coherent words. It doesn't help that, now, _Billy's_ attention is fully on him. 

Robin elbows him for the second time that night, just a tad harder. 

"Oh! I- yeah, I'm Steve!" He waves at the other man, mentally kicking his own ass for doing so. He must look like the dumbest person on Earth- 

His suspicions are confirmed when Billy raises an eyebrow at him, amused smile tugging at the corner of his full, pink lips as he stretches his hand for Steve to shake. Steve can feel his heartbeat vibrating in his throat. He does, though, manage to shake Billy's hand without passing out. 

"It's a pleasure, _Steve_ ," Billy says his name slowly, like he's tasting it in his tongue. Then withdraws his hand and turns to Robin to shake hers. "Robin. You'll have to excuse me, guys, but Demian's mom is waiting for him outside." 

"Right, sure. So if you ever need anything, you know. Just knock on my door?" Steve swears he can hear his brain screaming at him to _stop talking, please_. Billy's amused smile is back on place. "Because we're, you know. I live on the 5J." 

"Right," Billy takes Demian's hand on his. "Thanks, _neighbor._ I guess I'll see you on the hallway." 

He throws a wink at Steve's direction, and then he's gone. 

Robin moves quickly, snatches the keys from Steve's hand and forces him inside his apartment. "Oh my God." 

"Don't say a word." He pleads. 

"I'm going to say a lot of words," She follows Steve to the sofa and collapses right next to him. "What the fuck was that?" 

"I- have a hot neighbor." 

"I noticed." 

"And he has a cute son." 

"I noticed that too." 

"What do you want to know, then?"

"What I want to know, Dingus, is why are you so awkward?" Oh, if only Steve knew. "Really, it's painful. He was _so_ into you." 

Steve scoffs. "Yeah, right." 

"I'm serious! I don't know why, because that was pathetic. But he is, congrats!" 

"Okay, look." Steve straightens his back, hugs a cushion to his chest because that's what he does whenever he and Robin have a serious conversation on the sofa. "He has a son. Let's start from there." 

"So?" 

"He has a son, and said son has a _mom_ . He has a son with a _woman,_ Robin." 

"Steve, I'm sensing biphobic vibes coming from you." 

"I-" 

"And that's really sad. Because you're bi." 

"Shut up, I'm just using common sense! The mom is still in the picture, so, for all we know, he's straight." 

"Billy and _the mom,_ " She air quotes. "Don't live together. So it's obvious that they're not dating." 

"Okay," Steve scratches his forehead, getting frustrated. He doesn't point out that she's straight up speculating, because she wouldn't hear. "Let's say you're right. Let's say he's bi, gay even. Guess what? It doesn't matter. He's way out of my league." 

"That guy is out of everybody's league, Steve. He knows that, so he also knows he has to settle for mundane people if he ever wants to get laid." 

"Gee, thanks." 

"I'm just messing with you," Robin laughs and ruffles Steve's hair for good measure. "Why are you being so weirdly insecure? You're never like this." 

"Well, I've never seen someone that beautiful before." 

It's just that simple. 

Robin gets that pouty look on her face, the same one she gets when she's looking at Heather or at a puppy. Steve frowns. "What?" 

"That was sweet." 

"It wasn't sweet, it was the truth." 

"The truth was sweet," She grins. "So, he's hotter than Tom Hardy then?" 

Steve throws the cushion at her. "God, leave me alone." 

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are always appreciated!


End file.
